Sept. 14 (UPI) — A pilot program to establish electric flying taxis as a viable transportation option has been unveiled by the administration of President Donald Trump.
The Federal Aviation Administrationannounced Friday that it would administer the pilot program, officially the Electrical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program, which will form public-private partnerships between local governments and private sector companies to develop new frameworks and regulations for enabling safe operations.
The White House eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) launches today to select and test electric aircraft use cases like passenger rides, cargo delivery, and emergency response. And we’re ready! (1/5) pic.twitter.com/lik6Vhbli6— Joby Aviation (@jobyaviation) September 12, 2025
The announcement comes after Trump penned an executive order in June for “unleashing drone dominance.” At the time, the president had said the United States “must accelerate the safe commercialization of drone technologies and fully integrate UAS into the National Airspace System.”
The pilot would cover passenger trips and cargo runs, testing crewed eVTOL aircraft alongside remotely piloted and autonomous drones.
“The next great technological revolution in aviation is here. The United States will lead the way, and doing so will cement America’s status as a global leader in transportation innovation,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy.
“That means more high-paying manufacturing jobs and economic opportunity. By safely testing the deployment of these futuristic air taxis and other [advanced air mobility] vehicles, we can fundamentally improve how the traveling public and products move.”
The FAA said that the program will include at least five pilot projects and run for three years after the first becomes operational. So far, at least two companies have expressed willingness to participate.
Joby Aviation, a California-based firm developing air taxis for commercial passenger service, said that the program ensures such air taxis can take off in select markets before a full FAA certification. In 2023, the FAA greenlit a plan from the company to begin test flights on a prototype.
“We’ve spent more than 15 years building the aircraft technology and operational capabilities that are defining advanced aerial mobility, and we’re ready to bring our services to communities,” Joby’s chief policy officer, Greg Bowles, said in a statement.
“We look forward to demonstrating our aircraft’s maturity and delivering early operations in cities and states nationwide.”
Another firm, Archer Aviation, heralded the announcement as the “first federal initiative designed specifically to accelerate real-world electric air taxi operations in the U.S.”
“This is a landmark moment for our industry and our country,” said Adam Goldstein, Archer founder and CEO. “These early flights will help cement American leadership in advanced aviation and set the stage for scaled commercial operations in the U.S. and beyond.”
Antifascist campaign group Hope Not Hate condemns speeches at Saturday’s rally in London as ‘extremely disturbing’.
Britain will “never surrender” to far-right protesters who use the national flag as cover for violence and intimidation, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer says after violent scenes at one of the country’s largest far-right demonstrations in decades.
More than 110,000 people marched through central London on Saturday in a protest against immigration led by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. Some attending the Unite the Kingdom rally clashed with police. Twenty-six officers were injured, and at least 24 people were arrested, according to the Metropolitan Police.
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In his first public comments since the rally, Starmer said on Sunday that peaceful protest was a fundamental value in Britain, but he condemned assaults on police officers and intimidation against marginalised communities.
“People have a right to peaceful protest. It is core to our country’s values,” he said. “But we will not stand for assaults on police officers doing their job or for people feeling intimidated on our streets because of their background or the colour of their skin.”
He added: “Britain is a nation proudly built on tolerance, diversity and respect. Our flag represents our diverse country, and we will never surrender it to those that use it as a symbol of violence, fear and division.”
Islam is the ‘real enemy’
Saturday’s protest was marked by nationalist symbols, scuffles and inflammatory speeches. Footage showed police on horseback pelted with bottles while baton charges were used to push back Robinson supporters and allow about 5,000 counterdemonstrators to leave the Whitehall area of central London safely.
A stage was erected for speeches from a lineup of far-right figures. Leading the charge was Robinson, who told the crowd: “It’s not just Britain that is being invaded. It’s not just Britain that is being raped.”
“Every single Western nation faces the same problem: An orchestrated, organised invasion and replacement of European citizens is happening,” he added.
International speakers included French politician Eric Zemmour, who echoed the views put forward by Robinson. “We are both subject to the same process of the great replacement of our European peoples by peoples coming from the south and of Muslim culture,” he said, citing the great replacement conspiracy theory that white Europeans are being deliberately replaced by people from other ethnicities.
“You and we are being colonised by our former colonies,” Zemmour added.
Similarly, Belgian far-right politician Filip Dewinter declared: “It has to be clear that Islam is our real enemy. We have to get rid of Islam. Islam does not belong in Europe, and Islam does not belong in the UK.”
Other speakers included Danish People’s Party leader Morten Messerschmidt, German Alternative for Germany MP Petr Bystron and Polish politician Dominik Tarczynski.
Tesla CEO and X Chairman Elon Musk also made an appearance by videolink, telling protesters the UK needed an “urgent change in government” and warning them to “fight back” or “die”.
Police, government and antifascist groups condemn violence
The rally came amid a wave of far-right violence in recent months, including arson attacks on hotels housing asylum seekers.
Experts said these incidents, fuelled by conspiracy theories, xenophobia and online disinformation, have intensified concerns over the rise of far-right movements across Britain and Europe, which often spill over into rioting and violence.
Antiracism demonstrators display placards during a Stand Up to Racism protest in London on September 13, 2025 [Tayfun Salci/EPA]
Assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner Matt Twist said the violence directed at officers was “wholly unacceptable”. He added: “There is no doubt that many came to exercise their lawful right to protest, but there were many who came intent on violence.”
British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood also condemned the violence, warning that anyone taking part in criminal acts would “face the full force of the law”.
Starmer’s remarks followed calls from the antifascist group Hope Not Hate and several MPs urging the government to act against the surge in far-right mobilisation. Hope Not Hate described the protest as “extremely disturbing”.
“While the turnout was significantly smaller than the millions claimed by Lennon and his supporters, it appears to be the largest far-right demonstration ever seen in Britain,” the group said.
“For anyone worried about the rise of far-right activism and the normalisation of viciously anti-migrant, anti-Muslim sentiment, it could be a sign of dark times to come,” it added.
“Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade apologized Sunday for remarks he made last week that suggested using involuntary lethal injections to get mentally ill homeless people off the streets.
Kilmeade’s comments came during a discussion last Wednesday on “Fox & Friends” about the Aug. 22 stabbing death of a 23-year Ukranian refugee, Iryna Zarutska, on a light rail train in Charlotte, N.C.
Zarutska’s suspected killer, DeCarlos Brown Jr., is a homeless man with a long criminal record and is a paranoid schizophrenic, according to his family.
The attack on Zarutska was captured on security cameras and circulated widely online. The incident has sparked a national debate on public safety policy and criminal sentencing.
The topic led “Fox & Friends” co-host Laurence Jones to say that billions of dollars have been spent on programs to care for the homeless and mentally ill but many of those afflicted resist help.
“A lot of them don’t want to take the programs,” Jones said. “A lot of them don’t want to get the help that is necessary. You can’t give them the choice. Either you take the resources that we’re going to give you, or you decide that you’ve got to be locked up in jail.”
Kilmeade added: “Or involuntary lethal injection or something — just kill ‘em.”
A clip of Kilmeade’s remarks started to circulate widely on X on Saturday.
“I apologize for that extremely callous remark,” Kilmeade said during Sunday’s edition of the morning program. “I am obviously aware that not all mentally ill, homeless people act as the perpetrator did in North Carolina and that so many homeless people deserve our empathy and compassion.”
Many online commentators pointed out that Kilmeade’s comments evoked the extermination of mentally ill and disabled people that was authorized by Adolf Hitler in 1939. The German chancellor’s euthanasia program killed more than 250,000 people ahead of the Holocaust.
For now, Kilmeade has avoided the fate of political analyst Matthew Dowd, who lost his contributor role at MSNBC after commenting on the Wednesday shooting death of right wing political activist Charlie Kirk.
Dowd told MSNBC anchor Katy Tur that “hateful thoughts lead to hateful words which then lead to hateful actions.”
Dowd, once a political strategist for President George W. Bush, described Kirk as a divisive figure “who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups.”
The angry reaction on social media was immediate after Dowd’s comments suggested that Kirk’s history of incendiary remarks led to the shooting.
Rebecca Kutler, president of MSNBC, issued an apology and cut ties with Dowd.
Dowd also apologized in a post on BlueSky. “I in no way intended intended to blame Kirk for this horrendous attack,” he said.
The top executives at MSNBC parent Comcast sent a company-wide memo Friday citing Dowd’s firing and told employees “we need to do better.”
Video shows US Secretary of State Marco Rubio posing for photographs while placing a note in the Western Wall alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Rubio is reportedly ‘seeking answers’ from officials after Israel’s strike on Qatar upended efforts to end the Gaza war.
Marquez’s latest victory means he can clinch a seventh MotoGP world title at the next race in Japan in a fortnight.
Ducati’s Marc Marquez resisted a spirited challenge from Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi to win the San Marino Grand Prix on Sunday, taking his revenge after crashing out of the lead in Saturday’s sprint, and inching closer to the MotoGP title.
Bezzecchi had inherited victory in the sprint when Marquez crashed out. This time, however, the determined Spaniard overtook the Aprilia rider on lap 12, having started on the second row of the grid, and never looked back.
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Marquez’s 11th race victory of the season takes him to 512 points – a record tally for a MotoGP rider in a single season – and he celebrated his victory by unzipping his leathers and holding his red suit up on the podium like a matador.
Gresini Racing’s Alex Marquez finished a distant third, and brother Marc, with a 182-point lead, can clinch his seventh title at the Japanese Grand Prix this month.
“Today I gave everything I had. It’s true that the mistake from yesterday gave me extra concentration, extra power, extra energy,” an exhausted Marc Marquez said.
“I was just there following him [Bezzecchi], trying to push him always super close, because it’s impossible to do 27 laps without any mistake. And in the end, he did a small mistake on turn eight, and then I led the race.
“Super important for Ducati; I felt the pressure this weekend.”
Six more rounds remain, but Marc Marquez can now win his first title since 2019 if he outscores brother Alex by just three points in Japan.
Superb launch
At the start, Marc had a superb launch off the line and he veered to the outside to quickly move up to second behind polesitter Bezzecchi while Alex was pushed down to third.
As the top three streaked away, Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo found it difficult to maintain that pace, and he was soon battling with KTM’s Pedro Acosta, who eventually found his way past the former champion to chase the leading pack.
But Acosta’s hopes of fighting for the podium went up in smoke when he retired with a broken chain, with the young Spaniard furiously wagging his finger at the bike after he stopped on the side of the track.
Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia had another race to forget in a nightmare season for the twice champion, who crashed out of seventh place, his third place in the championship now seriously under threat from Bezzecchi.
Up front, Marc continued piling the pressure on Bezzecchi, and the Aprilia rider finally buckled on lap 12 when he was a breath late on the brakes and went wide, opening the door for the red Ducati to ease past him and into the lead.
Marc Marquez, left, trailed polesitter Marco Bezzecchi for the first 12 laps of the San Marino MotoGP [Andreas Solaro/AFP]
Unrelenting Bezzecchi
Bezzecchi gave chase, unrelenting and eager to reclaim the lead. But Marc remained calm and the Spaniard was in no mood to crash out of the lead twice in one weekend.
Bezzecchi shook his head in frustration with six laps left as Marc set the fastest lap of the race.
Marc tried his best to shake off the younger Italian, who found an extraordinary late race pace to challenge for the lead. But the Ducati rider responded once again as they traded fastest laps and left third-placed Alex more than six seconds behind.
“Besides [missing out on] the victory, this is maybe the best race of my life, because I was super competitive all weekend – pole position, sprint win, second place,” Bezzecchi said.
“I was close to Marc, who is at the moment the strongest on the grid. I’m very happy, I gave my all, I’m destroyed!”
VR46 Racing riders Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Di Giannantonio finished fourth and fifth, respectively, while Gresini’s Fermin Aldeguer was sixth.
Ducati Lenovo Team’s Marc Marquez crosses the line to win the San Marino MotoGP [Andreas Solaro/AFP]
Arab and Islamic foreign ministers are gathering in Doha after Israel’s unprecedented missile strikes on Qatar that killed five Hamas members and a Qatari officer. The summit aims to formulate a collective regional response, with leaders warning Israel’s attack crossed ‘all red lines’, as Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar explains.
Britain will not surrender its flag to those that wish to use it as a symbol of violence, fear and division, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
The prime minister said the flag represents “our diverse country” and he will not allow people to feel intimidated on “our streets because of their background or the colour of their skin”.
His comments came after more than 150,000 people took to the streets of central London for a “Unite the Kingdom” march organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, and about 5,000 took part in a counter-protest, co-ordinated by Stand Up To Racism.
Earlier, Business Secretary Peter Kyle said marchers were “demonstrating freedom of association and freedom of speech”.
The prime minister said: “People have a right to peaceful protest. It is core to our country’s values.
“But we will not stand for assaults on police officers doing their job or for people feeling intimidated on our streets because of their background or the colour of their skin.
“Britain is nation proudly built on tolerance, diversity and respect. Our flag represents our diverse country and we will never surrender it to those that use it as a symbol of violence, fear and division.”
Police say 26 officers were injured on the day – including four who were seriously hurt – with 24 people arrested.
Speaking about Saturday’s protests on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Kyle said moments like these were “klaxon calls” for those in power to redouble their efforts to address the big concerns people have, including on immigration.
“What worries me most is the divisions in our society and other societies and other democratic societies … it’s not even the left and the right at the moment, ” he told the programme.
“There are figures such as Tommy Robinson that are able to touch into a sense of disquiet and grievance in the community in our society,” he said.
The “small minority” who had committed violence would be held accountable, he told the programme.
Kyle criticised Elon Musk’s comments after he appeared at Saturday’s rally via video link telling protesters to “fight back” or “die”.
“I thought that they were slightly incomprehensible comments that were totally inappropriate”, the minister said.
The tech billionaire also referred to massive uncontrolled migration and called for a change of government in the UK.
Central London saw a huge policing operation for the protests this weekend, with around 1,000 officers deployed.
Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said officers said: “There is no doubt that many came to exercise their lawful right to protest, but there were many who came intent on violence.”
The protest was largely peaceful on Saturday lunchtime but as the afternoon continued tensions flared.
The Met said some officers had been attacked while trying to keep the two groups apart and dozens of officers were injured, including four who were seriously hurt.
Protesters joining the march, organised by Robinson, became too big to fit into Whitehall, police said, and confrontation happened when officers tried to stop them encircling counter-protesters.
Mounted police officers used batons to push back the crowds and officers were kicked and punched, said the Met.
Three of the 24 people arrested were women and the rest were men, while the youngest and oldest people detained at the protest were aged 19 and 58 respectively, the Met said on Sunday.
Several people were arrested for more than one offence.
The force added officers were working to identify other people involved in disorder with a view to making further arrests “in the coming days and weeks
The Met said on Saturday morning that they were not going to use live facial recognition cameras during the day.
Previously called a “game-changing tool” by Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, the technology is used by the force in “hotspot policing” and major events like the Notting Hill Carnival.
Background Poland, a frontline NATO state bordering Ukraine, has faced rising security risks since Russia’s invasion. A recent drone incursion into Polish airspace heightened concerns across Europe about Moscow’s tactics.
What Happened On Wednesday, Poland shot down Russian drones that violated its airspace the first known NATO engagement of this kind during the war in Ukraine. While Russia claimed the strike was unintended, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested it “could have been a mistake.” Polish leaders swiftly dismissed that view, calling it a deliberate Russian attack.
Why It Matters The incident highlights NATO’s vulnerability to drone warfare and raises doubts about the alliance’s ability to secure its airspace. It also underscores tensions between Washington and European allies over how firmly to confront Moscow.
Stakeholder Reactions Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk posted on X that there was “no question of a mistake.” Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk reinforced that view, saying Russia’s move was intentional. European leaders demanded new sanctions, with France summoning Russia’s ambassador and Britain announcing fresh penalties. Meanwhile, Trump’s perceived leniency toward Moscow unsettled NATO partners.
What’s Next The UN Security Council is meeting at Poland’s request. France is deploying fighter jets to bolster Polish defenses, and Germany is expanding NATO commitments on the eastern flank. With Russia and Belarus beginning joint military drills, European governments fear more provocations.
Israel has repeatedly entered Syria since the fall of al-Assad and has carried out air raids across the country.
Published On 14 Sep 202514 Sep 2025
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Israeli troops have carried out a ground operation in Syria’s southeastern Deraa province, Syria’s state news agency reported, the latest incursion in the neighbouring country as it also continues air raids against Damascus in various locations.
Soldiers also carried out searches in the Saysoun and Jamlah towns on Sunday, which are adjacent to the 1974 ceasefire line that was meant to separate Israeli and Syrian troops.
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On Saturday, Ahmed al-Sharaa, the country’s interim president, said talks with Israel have begun to re-establish a 1974 agreement which was concluded after the 1973 war between the countries.
Israel and Syria have held direct talks in recent months, and al-Sharaa has ruled out normalisation. The talks are aimed at halting Israel’s aggressive actions towards Syria and reaching some kind of security deal.
Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on military sites and assets across Syria since the fall of former leader Bashar al-Assad in December. It has also expanded its occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights by seizing the demilitarised buffer zone, a move that violated the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria.
On Tuesday, Syria “strongly condemned” Israeli attacks on several sites in and around Homs city in the west of the country and around the coastal city of Latakia.
The Israeli air attacks represent “a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic”, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
While Israel had for years waged a secretive campaign of aerial bombardment against Syria’s military infrastructure, its attacks on its neighbour have ramped up since the war on Gaza and the fall of al-Assad.
In late August, six Syrian soldiers were killed in an Israeli drone attack on Damascus, which came a day after a ground incursion into Syrian territory by Israeli troops.
The attacks on Syria come amid Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s promotion of a vision for a “Greater Israel“, a concept supported by ultranationalist Israelis that lays claim to the occupied West Bank and Gaza, as well as parts of Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Jordan.
After violence in southern Syria’s Suwayda on July 13 between Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze factions, government forces were sent in to quell the fighting. But the bloodshed worsened, and Israel carried out strikes on Syrian troops and bombed the heart of the capital, Damascus, under the pretext of protecting the Druze.
Marc Lamont Hill discusses Israel’s strike on Doha and what it means for Gaza ceasefire negotiations.
This week, Israel launched an unprecedented airstrike on Qatar’s capital, Doha, claiming it was targeting senior Hamas leaders. Qatar, a key mediator between Hamas and Israel, condemned the strike as a violation of international law and branded it an act of “state terrorism.”
How has Israel been able to act with such impunity? And what does this attack mean for the future of ceasefire negotiations in Gaza?
In this UpFront special, Marc Lamont Hill speaks with former Israeli negotiator – Daniel Levy, fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies – Phyllis Bennis, and Palestine Project coordinator at the Arab Center in Washington, DC – Hanna Alshaikh.
Leaders from across the region are gathering in the Qatari capital to discuss a formal response to Israel’s strikes on Doha last week, which it said targeted Hamas leadership and reverberated through the Middle East and beyond.
Israel launched the missiles as Hamas members gathered in their Doha office to discuss a deal proposed by United States President Donald Trump to end Israel’s two-year genocidal war on Gaza.
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The attack came hours after Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar claimed Israel had accepted the Trump proposal, which would release all 48 captives held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and a ceasefire.
Israel killed five Hamas members and a Qatari security official in the attack, although it did not kill the Hamas leadership it said it was targeting.
The United Nations Security Council unanimously condemned the attack on Thursday.
How is Qatar responding?
Qatar has invited leaders from Arab and Islamic countries for meetings that will culminate in the emergency Arab-Islamic summit on Monday.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Majed bin Mohammed al-Ansari told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that “the summit will discuss a draft resolution on the Israeli attack” that signifies another instance of “state terrorism practised by Israel”.
A meeting of foreign ministers on Sunday will work on the draft, which is expected to add to the international chorus of condemnation for the Israeli attack.
Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, who met Trump in New York on Friday, said Qatar will pursue a collective response to the attack, which has put the entire region at risk.
Qatar has long had a mediation role, working to end Israel’s war on Gaza and generate regional unity.
In the meetings on Sunday and Monday, it will leverage pro-Palestinian sentiment and opposition to Israel’s attacks that have been expressed across the region.
Who is attending?
Leaders from the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the 22-member Arab League will attend.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian is confirmed to attend, as are Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
On Saturday, Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani issued what he called a “warning to Islamic governments” and said they must “form a ‘joint operations room’ against the madness” of Israel instead of resorting to mere statements.
The full list of dignitaries in attendance on Monday is yet to be confirmed.
What can come out of the summit?
At the summit, a strongly worded statement against Israel is guaranteed.
The leaders will discuss potential ways they could take action to address Israeli aggression across the region.
Israel has also bombed Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen as its genocidal war on Gaza and military raids on the occupied West Bank continue relentlessly.
The sense of security enjoyed by Qatar and neighbouring states has been shattered, which could prompt them to seek new security or defence arrangements with the US that go beyond buying arms.
There are political considerations at play, however, especially with Washington still offering ironclad support to Israel despite growing international frustration.
As ministers and leaders arrived in Doha on Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio travelled to Israel to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top leaders. Among other things, they are likely to discuss plans to annex large parts of the West Bank.
That plan has been described by the United Arab Emirates, a member of the US-sponsored Abraham Accords to normalise ties with Israel, as a “red line” that would undermine the agreement.
Saudi Arabia and other regional states being eyed by Israel and the US as future members of the Accords are seen by analysts to be the furthest they have been for years from normalising relations with Israel.
Among the tools that states have at their disposal to respond to rogue aggression are acts like downgrading diplomatic ties.
Arab states like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE also have vast financial capabilities at their disposal as leverage, as well as large sovereign wealth funds with international investments that could impose curbs on Israel, including trade limitations.
Qatar has said part of its response will be legal, including through pursuing Israeli violations of international law.
For decades, men in many countries were expected to spend two or even three months’ salary on a diamond engagement ring. This notion – and the iconic status of this gem – did not come about by accident.
The story goes back to 1870, when an Oxford University dropout named Cecil Rhodes set off to try his luck in the Cape Colony – modern-day South Africa, then a key British domain.
Seeing the burgeoning diamond mining sector there, he began renting water pumps to diamond prospectors to prevent flooding of the mines. Then, over the next 20 years, Rhodes and his partner Charles Rudd proceeded to buy out hundreds, and then thousands, of small mines and “claims” – landholdings believed to contain diamonds – often for a pittance when their owners faced bankruptcy. Most miners were small operators, and Rhodes and Rudd had access to serious financial capital – notably the Rothschild banking empire – through their connections in London. As the two partners combined claims into larger mining units, overhead costs were reduced, and operations became more profitable.
The partners incorporated as De Beers Consolidated Mines, De Beers being the name of one of the mines they took over. By 1888, the company had a near-monopoly of South African claims and active diamond mines. With diamonds making up more than 25 percent of South African exports in 1900, De Beers became a powerhouse of the country’s economy, controlling some 90 percent of the world’s total diamond supply. Rhodes himself became a leading imperial figure, serving as prime minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896.
De Beers was founded upon the racist policies of South Africa, which at the time was ruled by a white minority. The diamonds were extracted by Black miners earning subsistence wages, while De Beers’s white, European-origin shareholders enjoyed the profits.
Following Rhodes’s death in 1902, control of De Beers ultimately passed to German-born entrepreneur Ernest Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer used a combination of financial incentives, strategic pressure, and diplomacy to persuade diamond suppliers in other countries to sell exclusively through the London-based and De Beers-owned “Central Selling Organization” (CSO), which in the 1930s became the unified sales channel for virtually all the world’s pre-cut diamonds. This enabled De Beers to stockpile diamonds, strictly control the release of stones to the global market, and effectively control prices – thereby creating an illusion of diamond scarcity worldwide.
Meanwhile, De Beers sought to enhance global demand for diamonds. In 1946, the company hired NW Ayer, a Philadelphia-based advertising agency, which one year later came up with the legendary slogan, “A diamond is forever”. This reframed the diamond and, specifically, the diamond engagement ring, as a symbol of “eternal love”. Through mass advertising, product placements in films, and celebrity PR – for example, lending jewellery to actors for major events – the campaign transformed the diamond market in the US, Europe and Japan.
Lasting 64 years, until 2011, this campaign was an astounding global success, with Ad Age magazine naming “A diamond is forever” as the top advertisement slogan of the 20th century. De Beers had manufactured a social norm, with the diamond engagement ring becoming almost mandatory in every developed market. While previously, a fiance might give a locket, a string of pearls, or a family heirloom to his intended, the number of American brides with a diamond ring climbed from 10 percent in 1940 to some 80 percent in 1980. In Japan, this figure rose from less than 5 percent in 1960 to 60 percent by 1981.
By the early 1950s, a diamond ring typically cost about $170 – about $2,300 in today’s money. De Beers advertisements initially suggested spending one month’s salary on an engagement ring, but by the 1980s, they were posing the question: “How can you make two months’ salary last forever?” Consumers appeared undeterred by the fact that a diamond’s resale value was typically just 50 percent of its original retail price (in contrast to gold, which has an “official” benchmark price set twice-daily).
By the time Marilyn Monroe sang “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend” in 1953 and the James Bond film “Diamonds Are Forever” was released in 1971, the diamond had become an icon.
The Kimberley diamond mines in South Africa, to which thousands flocked in the 1870s after the discovery of diamonds on the nearby De Beers farm [Gray Marrets/Getty Images]
‘Cartel behaviour’
By the late 1970s, De Beers was annually distributing some 50 million diamond carats, with sales of more than $2bn in the US alone.
But as the 1980s rolled around, problems started to emerge for the company.
De Beers came under increasing scrutiny as the anti-apartheid movement gained momentum in Europe and the United States. Reports of its working conditions were shocking: low pay for mineworkers, minimum safety training and crowded dormitory housing surrounded by barbed wire and security checkpoints. This negative publicity put De Beers firmly in the spotlight as one of the prime beneficiaries of apartheid.
De Beers had already fought off allegations of “cartel behaviour” from the US Department of Justice. But in 1994, the company was indicted by a US grand jury on price-fixing charges. The company was barred from doing business in the US, where its executives could no longer set foot for fear of arrest.
In the late 1990s, reports that the diamond trade was financing brutal civil wars in Angola, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo further soured consumer sentiment.
Rebel groups targeted “alluvial” diamond mines – relatively easy-to-extract surface deposits, often in riverbeds – selling stones into the informal “grey” market and using the profits to buy weapons. The phrase “blood diamonds” entered the lexicon as investigative articles depicted enslaved children with pickaxes and shovels. De Beers was accused of turning a blind eye, if not outright complicity. The company’s sales declined more than 20 percent in two years, from about $5.7bn in 1999 to $4.45bn in 2001, with other diamond suppliers such as Angola’s Endiama and Russia’s Alrosa equally affected.
But since the early 1990s, changes had been afoot at De Beers. Facing pressure from South Africa’s newly elected African National Congress (ANC), it had introduced better conditions and wages for its mainly Black mineworkers. At the same time, Black South Africans also began to occupy some management roles.
Meanwhile, the US indictment meant the company had no choice but to terminate its CSO in 2000, ushering in competition from other producers. Diamond prices, no longer set and dictated by the CSO, became more volatile, subject to fluctuating demand, economic cycles, and geopolitical conditions.
To counter the blood diamond backlash, De Beers helped implement the “Kimberley Process” in 2003, through which diamond dealers can trace the origin of diamonds and authenticate “clean’’ diamonds with a microscopic stamp.
A salesperson shows a diamond ring to a prospective buyer at a jewellery shop in Ahmedabad, India, on April 14, 2025 [Ajit Solanki/AP Photo]
Not forever?
Today, natural diamonds may have lost some of their allure with the rise of “lab-grown” stones and “diamond simulants” such as cubic zirconia, which are up to 90 percent cheaper than the mined variety and often distinguishable from the real thing only by experts using specialised equipment.
Over the past two years, the diamond industry has been hit by a “perfect storm” of cheaper synthetic stones, weak consumer demand in the US and China, sanctions against Russia and, more recently, high US tariffs. This has had a widespread adverse impact: the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) reported that rough diamond imports dropped 35 percent in 2024, with overall trade declining by 25 percent year-on-year (from $32.5bn to $24.4bn) – and in the Indian gem processing hub of Surat, at least 50,000 diamond workers were rendered jobless in 2024. At least 80 diamond workers in India have died by suicide in the past two years.
In 2011, the Oppenheimer family sold its interest in De Beers to the London-based mining corporation Anglo American, another major shareholder, for just over $5bn. De Beers is now once more up for sale, again with a $5bn price tag, as Anglo American seeks to exit the declining diamond market in favour of copper, iron ore and rare earth minerals.
Despite the volatile market conditions, total global consumer diamond sales were valued at approximately $100bn in 2024, with the average price of $6,750 for a diamond ring in the US, according to the Natural Diamond Council – about 1.3 months’ standard wage in the United States, but about eight months’ worth of the global median income. For those of greater means, London’s Harrods reportedly has a 228.31 carat, pear-shaped diamond available to view by private appointment – with a price estimated to be in excess of $30m.
This article is part of “Ordinary items, extraordinary stories”, a series about the surprising stories behind well-known items.
As Israel displaces thousands from the north of the enclave, concerns are growing about worsening conditions in the south.
Thousands of Palestinians are being displaced each day by Israel’s indiscriminate carpet bombing of Gaza City, which is killing dozens of civilians daily, with families fleeing south towards an uncertain fate in the repeatedly attacked and overcrowded al-Mawasi.
More than 6,000 people were forced to leave the besieged city on Saturday, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence, as the Israeli army continued its relentless bombardment of the area.
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Some 900,000 Palestinians are currently left in the city, but the number is decreasing rapidly.
“Gaza City is being emptied building by building, family by family,” Al Jazeera’s Hamza Mohamed said.
“Soon, what remains might not be a city, just the memory of one,” he added.
Khalil Matar, a displaced Palestinian fleeing south, said: “We keep moving. There are sick people with us, and we don’t know where to go. There are no safe zones.”
Many of those who are leaving the north are heading on the forced evacuation threats of the Israeli army to al-Mawasi camp, where conditions have been described as beyond dire, crowded, and under-resourced even before the latest mass displacements.
Reports from al-Mawasi, which is often struck by Israeli strikes despite being a so-called “safe zone”, suggest that new arrivals are struggling to find space to pitch their tents.
‘Famine is devouring us too’
Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from the al-Mawasi, said the scenes there were “very chaotic” as more and more families arrived, with their belongings placed by the side of the road.
“For almost a whole week, we’ve been trying to figure out a place to shelter in. I have a large family, including my children, my mother and my grandmother,” one displaced Palestinian man told Khoudary.
“Not only are missiles pouring down on our heads, but famine is devouring us too,” he said.
The man added that his family’s tent was not fit for purpose after two years of use, and that he was unsure where they would take shelter.
“Displacement is as painful as eviscerating one’s soul out of the body. We don’t know where to take refuge,” he said. “I’m taking my family into the unknown.”
Speaking from al-Mawasi, displaced journalist Ahmed al-Najjar said the camp was not safe.
“It’s called a safe zone, but we have been living here for months and we know for sure that it’s not safe,” he stressed.
“How can I call it safe when Israel killed and bombed my own sister within this ‘safe zone’?”
Al-Najjar also described being woken up by the “cries and horrific sounds of people being burned alive in a nearby tent”.
Given such dangers as well as the lack of space, some displaced Palestinians have told Al Jazeera that they will be returning to Gaza City from al-Mawasi, in an apparent trend of reverse displacement.
Faraj Ashour, a displaced Palestinian who lost his legs in an Israeli attack, is one of those considering the return journey.
“I went to al-Mawasi, but the costs were too high … and it was almost impossible to find a proper spot without paying extra,” Ashour said.
Displaced Palestinians wash their dishes at a tent camp in al-Mawasi, Gaza, on September 10, 2025 [Jehad Alshrafi/AP Photo]
Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian student, Baraa Jamal Karama, during a raid on her home in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron. In the footage, a soldier shushes her as she calls out, while another points his gun at the person filming.
Laura KuenssbergPresenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
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The family of Virginia Giuffre, who became the most prominent victim of Jeffrey Epstein, has told the BBC that Lord Mandelson should never have been given the position of UK ambassador to the United States.
In an exclusive interview on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Sky Roberts, Virginia’s brother said, “absolutely not, he should never have been given the position in the first place.
“It speaks to how deep the corruption goes in our systems. Whether that’s linked to the UK, US or abroad.”
There is no suggestion that Lord Mandelson ever met Giuffre. He said last week, that “perhaps as a gay man”, he never sought or was offered introductions to women from Epstein.
Virginia Giuffre alleged that she was abused by Jeffrey Epstein after she met Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite, in 2000 while working as a locker room attendant at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.
In 2001, at the age of 17, she said Epstein brought her to London and introduced her to Prince Andrew, who she claimed sexually abused her three times. The prince, who has denied all claims against him, reached an out-of-court settlement with her in 2022 which contained no admission of liability or apology.
Giuffre’s sister-in-law, Amanda Roberts, told the BBC, “why does it take us to have to pull out the skeletons for people to be held accountable? Our governments have allowed these people to hold their status and their title without shame”.
“He should never have been given that title. We have to put the spotlight on them. It’s unfair we continuously pull these skeletons out, that survivors have to continuously point the finger for us to do the right thing”.
Neither Downing Street nor Lord Mandelson wished to comment.
EPA
There’s no suggestion Lord Mandelson ever met Virginia Giuffre
Lord Mandelson was sacked by the Prime Minister this week, after a cache of emails between Mandelson and Epstein was published by Bloomberg, in which the peer urged Epstein to fight for early release, and revealed the extent of their contacts and relationship.
Mr Roberts, Virginia’s younger brother, said that the firing of Mandelson was a “step in the right direction” but “the reality is that’s not nearly enough”.
Referencing Jeffrey Epstein’s birthday book, to which Peter Mandelson contributed several pages along with dozens of other contributors he added, “there are still people out there, still people in that book who could be doing this to other young women and children right now.”
Entries from 40 people, divided into several categories such as “friends”, “business”, “science” and “Brooklyn”, were published, though the names under “family” and “girl friends” were redacted.
These people are not accused of any legal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein’s case.
The family’s first UK interview will be broadcast on Sunday with LK on Sunday – As well as Lord Mandelson they discuss Epstein, Donald Trump and Prince Andrew, and their hope for Virginia’s legacy.
Sign up for the Off Air with Laura K newsletter to get Laura Kuenssberg’s expert insight and insider stories every week, emailed directly to you.
In 1901, U.S. President William McKinley died of wounds inflicted by an assassin eight days earlier. He was succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt.
In 1920, the first live radio dance music was broadcast, carried by a Detroit station and featuring Paul Specht and his orchestra.
In 1959, the Soviet probe Luna 2 — known informally as Lunik 2 — became the first Earth-launched space vehicle to land on the moon.
In 1960, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was founded.
OPEC ministers meet in Moscow on December 23, 2008. File Photo by Anatoli Zhdanov/UPI
In 1982, Princess Grace of Monaco — American film actress Grace Kelly — was killed when her car plunged off a mountain road by the Cote D’Azur. She was 52.
In 1991, the South African government, ANC, Inkatha Freedom Party and 20 other anti-apartheid groups signed a peace accord to end black factional violence.
In 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush proclaimed this to be a day of national mourning and remembrance for those killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The FBI identified the hijackers and said several had taken flying lessons in Florida.
In 2005, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, the third and fourth largest U.S. air carriers, filed for bankruptcy as the industry reeled under record high jet fuel costs.
In 2008, the U.S. brokerage firm Merrill Lynch agreed to sell itself to Bank of America for $50 billion and Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy after it failed to find a buyer.
File Photo by Laura Cavanaugh/UPI
In 2010, U.S. hiker Sarah Shourd, imprisoned in Iran on charges of espionage for more than a year after she and two male companions were accused of illegally crossing into Iranian territory, was released on $500,000 bail. The men — Shane Bauer, her fiance, and Josh Fattal — were freed just over a year later.
In 2023, the U.S. Justice Department indicted Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, on felony gun charges. He was the first child of a sitting president to be charged by the department.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
A spokesperson for NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) says it has no force posture changes to announce after an unprecedented flurry of Russian drones violated Polish airspace overnight. Authorities in Poland say they have assessed that the incursions were not accidental. Polish and Dutch fighters shot down several of the intruding uncrewed aircraft. The alliance has described this as a first-of-its-kind event, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has warned that the risk of a broader conflict in Europe is now greater than at any point since the end of World War II.
NATO planes shot down Russian drones that violated Poland’s airspace on Tuesday
Russia’s drone incursion into Poland marked the first time in its history that NATO planes have engaged potential threats in allied airspace, Col. Martin L. O’Donnell told @NatashaBertrand@halbritzhttps://t.co/blFilvt87v
Polish authorities say Russian drones began to violate the country’s airspace at around 11:30 PM local time last night. The last incursion was reported at 6:30 AM local time this morning. The intrusions came amid a new round of Russian drone and missile attacks on neighboring Ukraine.
Exactly how many Russian drones, and of what specific types, made their way into Poland’s airspace is unclear. Polish Prime Minister Tusk said that between 11 and 19 violations of Polish airspace were recorded overnight, many of them crossing the border from Belarus. He said that at least three, and likely four, drones were shot down. In his Polish-language statements, Tusk used the term “kilkanaście,” which means a number between 11 and 19, and has no direct English translation.
Radoslaw Sikorski, Poland’s Foreign Minister, subsequently said there had been 19 total airspace violations. He also said Poland has assessed that the drones “did not veer off course but were deliberately targeted.”
Last night, Poland’s airspace was breached 19 times by drones manufactured in Russia. Our assessment is that they did not veer off course but were deliberately targeted.
Poland, EU and NATO will not be intimidated and we will continue to stand by the brave people of Ukraine.… pic.twitter.com/prAEqrIUKX
Poland’s Tusk has also said that while at least three to four drones were shot down, another three to four appeared to have simply crashed in Polish territory. According to Karolina Gałecka, a spokesperson for the Polish interior minister, the remains of seven drones and an unidentified “rocket” have been recovered so far. Speaking at a briefing today, the spokesperson for the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command, Jacek Goryszewski, said debris currently categorized as being of “unknown origin” may turn out to be from an interceptor fired by NATO’s air defenses.
❗️Breaking: More than 20, most likely 23, Russian drones were detected in a nighttime violation of Polish airspace, — Polish media Rzeczpospolita reported, referring to the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces. pic.twitter.com/piwOkFrwqt
The debris has been found mostly in areas in eastern Poland, relatively close to the country’s borders with Ukraine and Belarus, but some has also been discovered much further north and west. The drone incursions had also led to the temporary closure of four Polish airports, including the country’s main Chopin Airport in the capital Warsaw, although this has since reopened and flights have resumed. One of the other airports closed was Rzeszów-Jasionka in Poland’s south-east, which is a major hub for arms transfers to Ukraine.
Locations in Poland where Russian drones were found today shown on a map:
Cześniki (Zamość County, Lublin Voivodeship) – 1 drone, Czosnówka (Bialski County, Lublin Voivodeship) – 1 drone, Wyryki Wola (Włodawa County, Lublin Voivodeship) – 1 drone and a damaged building,… pic.twitter.com/tVfugCeOrA
NOTAMs for closures at Modlin and Warsaw are set to expire at 0330 UTC (~60 minutes from now), while NOTAMs for Rzeszow and Lublin are scheduled to end at 0600 (all times preliminary and subject to change). Transit traffic over Poland continuing to stay west of normal routes. pic.twitter.com/QRd97Nw4Bv
At the time of writing, there have been no reports of casualties, but at least one Russian drone hit a house when it came down.
⚡ 7 drones and rocket debris of unknown origin found in Poland
This was confirmed by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, Karolina Gałecka, during a press conference. “We have found 7 drones and one piece of a rocket,” she confirmed.… https://t.co/EnsxzMOe6upic.twitter.com/u6V2jz0iQj
Poland had already put its forces on high alert ahead of the first airspace violations last night. Polish and Ukrainian authorities have also confirmed they were actively coordinating throughout the night as Russian drones were tracked heading west.
Another report from the Commander of our Air Force. We are clarifying all available data and analyzing the details of this Russian strike.
Already during the night, Ukrainian forces were informing the Polish side through the relevant channels about the movement of Russian…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 10, 2025
More information is coming in about the intrusion of Russian attack drones into Polish territory. As of now, it’s known about 8 drones. Increasing evidence indicates that this movement, this direction of strike, was no accident. There have been previous incidents of individual…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 10, 2025
Prime Minister Tusk’s office has confirmed that assets that were “directed to the anticipated area of operation” included two Polish F-16s, as well as Polish Army Mi-24 Hind, Mi-17 Hip, and S-70 Black Hawk helicopters. At least one Polish Saab 340 Erieye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft also appears to have participated in the operation last night, based on publicly available flight-tracking data. The look-down capability offered by the Erieye’s radar would have been particularly valuable for spotting small, low-flying drones. Poland’s armed forces also have extensive ground-based air defense capabilities.
After a major 9+ hour mission hunting Russian drones and coordinating air defenses overnight, Poland’s SAAB 340 airborne early warning aircraft is heading for home. pic.twitter.com/L1McAqVWz1
1x Polish AEW&C aircraft over Poland currently monitoring the eastern border. Additionally, 1x NATO refueling aircraft was over Polish airspace supporting fighter jets, including at least one F-35, in the task of neutralizing Russian drones that have crossed the Polish border. pic.twitter.com/Dek3DwGFLb
Polish authorities also said that two F-35 Joint Strike Fighters took part in the response to the Russian drone incursions. The Netherlands has separately said that its F-35s were among the assets that helped secure Poland’s skies overnight. The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) currently has Joint Strike Fighters stationed at Malbork in Poland, to help bolster the country’s air defenses.
Dutch F-35s have intercepted Russian drones over Poland.
Within the NATO framework, our F-35s make a significant contribution to the defence of our collective security. This is precisely what we stand ready to do.
NATO has further confirmed that an Italian Air Force AEW&C plane, which would be one of that country’s modified Gulfstream G-550 aircraft, as well as at least one A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) from a fleet the alliance operates collectively, were launched in response to the incursions into Polish airspace.
German Patriot surface-to-air missile systems forward-deployed in Poland were also at least placed on alert. A NATO source separately toldReuters that Patriot surface-to-air missiles in the region detected the drones with their radars, but had not engaged them.
Exactly what Polish and other NATO assets were used to shoot down Russian drones is unclear. The Dutch Minister of Defense, Ruben Brekelmans, has confirmed that Polish and Dutch fighters were among them.
Video, seen immediately below, has emerged that is said to show a Russian drone being downed by a Polish Air Force F-16, but this remains unverified. A picture of debris from an AIM-120C-7 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) that is said to have been found in Poland earlier today is also circulating online, but this is also unconfirmed. Both F-16s and F-35As could have employed AIM-120s, as well as AIM-9 Sidewinder variants, and even potentially their internal guns.
Doczekaliśmy się momentu w którym Polak może w swoim ogrodzie znaleźć resztki naszego albo holenderskiego pocisku powietrze – powietrze AIM-120 C-7 AMRAAM którym strzelano do rosyjskich dronów.
Poland’s Tusk thanked both his country’s armed forces and NATO allies for shooting down drones overnight.
My thanks and congratulations to the Polish Operational Command and our NATO pilots for shooting down Russian drones over Poland. Actions speak louder than words.
Regardless, it is important to note here that NATO jets, including Dutch F-35s in Poland, have scrambled in response to Russian drones into the airspace over alliance members in the past. However, they had not fired any weapons in response to those intrusions until last night.
A stock photo of a Dutch pilot running toward an F-35 during a scramble. Royal Netherlands Air Force
“This is the first time NATO planes have engaged potential threats in Allied airspace,” Col. Martin L. O’Donnell, a spokesperson for NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) told ABC News.
❝Last night showed that we are able to defend every inch of NATO territory including its airspace.❞
— @SecGenNATO Mark Rutte on the violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones
Though the immediate response to the Russian drone incursions overnight has concluded, Polish Minister of Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz confirmed that the search for downed drones was still underway as of Wednesday.
“We ask for calm and to share only the announcements of the military and state services. In case of encountering object fragments, please do not approach them and inform the police,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said on X.
Nad Polską trwa operacja neutralizacji obiektów, które naruszyły granicę RP. Prezydent i Premier zostali powiadomieni. Wszystkie służby działają. Prosimy o stosowanie się do komunikatów Wojska Polskiego i Policji. Samoloty użyły uzbrojenia przeciwko wrogim obiektom. Jesteśmy w…
The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces called the overnight violations “unprecedented” and “an act of aggression that posed a real risk to the lives of our citizens.”
❗️W wyniku dzisiejszego ataku Federacji Rosyjskiej na terytorium Ukrainy doszło do bezprecedensowego w skali naruszenia polskiej przestrzeni powietrznej przez obiekty typu dron. Jest to akt agresji, który stworzył realne zagrożenie dla bezpieczeństwa naszych obywateli.
The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces called the overnight violations “unprecedented” and “an act of aggression that posed a real risk to the lives of our citizens.”
“There is no reason to claim that we are in a state of war… but the situation is significantly more dangerous than all previous ones,” Poland’s Prime Minister Tusk said. He further warned that the prospect of a large-scale conflict in Europe is now “closer than at any time since the Second World War.”
Warsaw’s immediate response included the foreign ministry summoning Andrey Ordash, Russia’s chargé d’affaires in the Polish capital. However, Ordash told the Russian RIA Novosti news agency that Poland has not offered any evidence that the drones were of Russian origin.
Poland has also now invoked Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which forms the legal basis for NATO. Article 4 states that “the Parties [to the alliance] will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened.”
NATO’s article four calls on allies to “consult” in case of a threat. It was last invoked in 2022 after the Russian invasion by several Eastern European countries. Among other things, it would be a test of Trump’s approach to the alliance. Just a week ago Trump had said: “We are… https://t.co/yddJZAcP4U
Since NATO was created in 1949, Article 4 has only been invoked seven times. The last of these was in 2022, in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The North Atlantic Treaty also includes a collective defense provision, Article 5, which has only ever been invoked once, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
As noted, a spokesperson for NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) told TWZ that there are “no force posture adjustments to announce at this time.” U.S. European Command (EUCOM) declined to comment.
It remains to be seen what kind of response NATO might formulate following the Article 4 consultation.
A White House official told TWZ that President Donald Trump and the White House are tracking the reports out of Poland, and there are plans for President Trump to speak with Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki today.
Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers have been swift to condemn Russia’s actions. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin said that the “repeated violations of NATO airspace” by Russian drones were “fair warning that Vladimir Putin is testing our resolve to protect Poland and the Baltic nations.”
Repeated violations of NATO airspace by Russian drones are fair warning that Vladimir Putin is testing our resolve to protect Poland and the Baltic nations. After the carnage Putin continues to visit on Ukraine, these incursions cannot be ignored.
Republican congressman Joe Wilson, a senior member of the foreign affairs committee, went further, describing the incursions as an “act of war.”
Russia is attacking NATO ally Poland with Iranian shahed drones less than a week after President Trump hosted President Nawrocki at the White House. This is an act of war, and we are grateful to NATO allies for their swift response to war criminal Putin’s continued unprovoked…
Wilson called upon President Donald Trump to respond with sanctions “that will bankrupt the Russian war machine.”
Increasingly, questions are being asked at the highest levels as to whether the drone incursion was a deliberate act, although the Kremlin has denied this.
German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius said the Russian drones were “clearly set on this course” and “did not have to fly this route to reach Ukraine.”
German Defense Minister Pistorius:
There is definitely no reason to assume that [Russian drones violating Polish airspace] was a matter of course correction errors or anything of that sort. These drones were quite obviously deliberately directed on this course.
“There is absolutely no reason to believe that this was a course correction error or anything of the sort,” Pistorius told the German parliament. He added that, according to the Polish government, the drones were armed with warheads, although this claim doesn’t seem to be otherwise supported.
The Russian Ministry of Defense, meanwhile, claims that there were no intentions to engage any targets on Polish territory, but has provided no further information to substantiate that assertion. The type of drones used are also indicative of this being a probing action to give Russia a valuable opportunity to observe NATO’s response. It could also serve as a form of intimation.
Same outward public signaling as if they had used larger Geran drones, but with a much lower risk to Russia of any actual NATO response given the much smaller warhead (if they even carried any and weren’t the decoy variant).
Altogether, the full scale and scope of the response from Poland and the rest of NATO to last night’s Russian drone incursions, as well as whether that is the start of a trend of escalating airspace violations, remains to be seen.
Update: 2:00 PM Eastern –
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk says he has now “received not only expressions of solidarity with Poland, but above all proposals for concrete support for the air defense of our country” following conversations today with the leaders of other NATO members in Europe and the alliance’s Secretary General. Tusk did not elaborate on what that support might entail. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had previously said that “allies expressed solidarity with Poland and denounced Russia’s reckless behaviour.”
❝Allies expressed solidarity with Poland and denounced Russia’s reckless behaviour.❞
Following a North Atlantic Council meeting, @SecGenNATO Mark Rutte delivered a statement to the media on the violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones
It is worth reiterating here that Poland has significant air defense capabilities itself and has been making major investments to expand and improve them. This includes plans for a new aerostat-based elevated airborne early warning system that would be especially useful for spotting and tracking incoming low-flying threats like drones and cruise missiles.
“What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!” U.S. President Donald Trump has now written in a post on his Truth Social social media network, but what actions he may be looking to take are unclear. Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and major political ally of Trump’s, has said the U.S. Congress is prepared to help impose new sanctions and tariffs on Russia in response.
I completely agree with President @realDonaldTrump‘s sentiment in response to Russia’s insane violation of Polish airspace for hours, deploying multiple drones.
Mr. President, Congress is with you. We stand ready to pass legislation authorizing bone crushing new sanctions and… pic.twitter.com/LIqYmS4rG7
Fox News has reported that no U.S. forces were involved in the response to the drone incursions overnight. A report from CNN says that Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, had been on his way to Poland at the time.
A NATO spokesman tells @LucasFoxNews there was ‘no U.S. military involvement’ in shooting down the Russian drones. “This is the first time NATO planes have engaged potential threats in Allied airspace.”
Attributable to U.S. Army Col. Martin L. O’Donnell, Supreme Headquarters… https://t.co/FSDcqYsp8h
Mario is headed to outer space for his next cinematic adventure.
Nintendo held a supersized livestream of announcements Friday commemorating the 40th anniversary of “Super Mario Bros.”: The first game in the popular franchise was released in Japan in September 1985. Among the news items shared by the company’s video game maestro Shigeru Miyamoto is that the sequel to “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is officially titled “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.” The follow-up to the 2023 blockbuster is slated to hit theaters in April.
“What kinds of adventures do you think Mario and his friends will have in space?” Miyamoto, who created Nintendo’s iconic mustachioed hero, said during Nintendo Direct after sharing a brief teaser for the film. “This movie will be the main event of the ‘Super Mario Bros.’ 40th anniversary.”
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is another collaboration between Nintendo and the animation studio Illumination. During the livestreamed announcement, producer and Illumination chief executive Chris Meledandri shared that “while the ‘Super Mario Galaxy’ games are the core inspiration for our story, this next film holds surprises for fans of every Mario era.”
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” directors Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath are once again at the helm for “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.” Also returning are cast members Chris Pratt (Mario), Anya Taylor-Joy (Princess Peach), Charlie Day (Luigi), Jack Black (Bowser), Keegan-Michael Key (Toad) and Kevin Michael Richardson (Kamek), as well as composer Brian Tyler.
The announcement did not mention whether Lumalee — the cheerfully nihilistic star-shaped blue being that Luigi meets during “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” — will return for the sequel, but the teaser did include a glimpse of a yellow Luma. So it’s impossible not to hope that the character will have some sort of role in “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” since the star-shaped creatures appear in both the 2007 video game “Super Mario Galaxy” and its 2010 sequel. While the character in the movie had memorable one-liners about “the sweet relief of death” and how “hope is an illusion,” in the games these blue Lumas are more helpful merchants of life.
New characters likely to debut in the sequel include Rosalina, a sort of guardian of the cosmos and caretaker of the Lumas who first appeared in the “Super Mario Galaxy” game, as well as Yoshi, the dinosaur-like character who can grab faraway objects — and foes — with his tongue. Yoshi was teased in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s” post-credits scene.
The success of films like “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which grossed more than $1.3 billion worldwide, is among the reasons Hollywood has recently pivoted to more video-game inspired fare. The “Super Mario” movie sequel was first announced in 2024.
Kim Jo Yong says the upcoming drills ‘will undoubtedly bring about negative consequences’ for Seoul and its allies.
Published On 14 Sep 202514 Sep 2025
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s influential sister has condemned upcoming joint military exercises between the United States, Japan and South Korea, calling them “dangerous” and a “reckless show of strength”.
The comments by Kim Yo Jong, published by state media on Sunday, come a day before Seoul and its allies begin drills combining naval, air and missile defence exercises off South Korea’s Jeju Island.
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The drills, called the “Freedom Edge”, will last through Friday.
Kim Yo Jong, who is vice department director of the North Korean governing party’s central committee, slammed the drills as a “dangerous idea”.
“This reminds us that the reckless display of power displayed by the US, Japan, and South Korea in the wrong places, namely around the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, will undoubtedly bring about negative consequences for themselves,” Kim Yo Jong said, using the official name for North Korea.
The statement follows a visit by her brother to weapons research facilities this week, where he said Pyongyang “would put forward the policy of simultaneously pushing forward the building of nuclear forces and conventional armed forces”.
North Korea perceives the trilateral drills as “scenarios for limited or full-scale nuclear strikes and attempts to neutralise its launch platforms”, Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told the AFP news agency.
“The North is likely using the allied exercises as a pretext to push ahead with nuclear modernisation and conventional upgrades,” he added.
Aside from the trilateral exercises, the US and South Korea also plan to stage the “Iron Mace” tabletop exercises next week on integrating their conventional and nuclear capabilities against North Korea’s threats, South Korean local media reported.
South Korea hosts about 28,500 American soldiers in its territory.
“Iron Mace” will be the first such drills taking place under US President Donald Trump and newly elected South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who have expressed willingness to resume dialogue with North Korea.
If “hostile forces” continue to boast about their power through those joint drills, North Korea will take countermeasures “more clearly and strongly”, North Korea’s top party official Pak Jong Chon said in a separate dispatch via the state news agency KCNA.
Since a failed summit with the US in 2019 on denuclearisation, North Korea has repeatedly said it will never give up its nuclear weapons and declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear state.
Kim Jong Un has been emboldened by the war in Ukraine, securing critical support from Russia after sending thousands of North Korean troops to fight alongside Moscow.
Moscow and Pyongyang signed a mutual defence pact last year when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the reclusive state.
